Statement on Charlotte officer-involved shooting case

Release date: 1/13/2014

At the request of the Mecklenburg County District Attorney, Special Prosecutors in Attorney General Roy Cooper’s Office agreed to handle the case of the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell by Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Randall Kerrick.

Following an investigation by the SBI and a legal review by the Attorney General’s Office of both that investigation and the investigation conducted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, we have decided to take the case before the Mecklenburg County Grand Jury to seek an indictment on the charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The Attorney General’s prosecutors will present their evidence to the Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 21. If the Grand Jury returns a true bill of indictment, we will move forward to prosecute the charge in the September 14 shooting death of Mr. Ferrell.

The Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section is available to all District Attorneys in the state when there is a conflict of interest or when there are other issues that prevent a District Attorney from handling a case.